rob7331

With skin fades and shorter hair in general it can be harder to gauge recession, but from what I can tell your situation isn't impossible. I'd recommend growing your hair out a little longer, taking pictures in direct light and then re-doing your photos / consultations and seeing what the clinics suggest. I'd even consider sending for evaluations at top-tier surgeons, just to get their evaluation. I do see where you're coming from regarding not seeing measurable results from the treatments you're on. That would be frustrating and disappointing for me. What I can say is that I didn't see 'results' from my Nizoral/Minox/Fin/Derma combo until a year or so after starting on it (and being consistent). Once I gave it the time, I made huge gains, to the point of almost forgetting about getting a HT entirely. Regardless you've come to the right place at this forum. Definitely take your time doing your research, and consider price as one factor of your surgery.

I'm getting deja vu with all these "which package at Eugenix' topics. You've been given some excellent advice already. I would just add to make sure you compare results from people on this forum at different package levels. Me personally, I would be okay with a Dr besides the founding Dr Sethi and Bansal because I've seen enough good results from them to feel safe. However, it's hard not to acknowledge that Dr Sethi's work is in a league of it's own. Another consideration, if it were me, is how much work you need done. If a second procedure is necessary just due to sheer volume of grafts required, that might come into consideration with your selection.

Looks perfectly on track for 3 months.

Thanks for the tag. I agree with your assessment generally and fully understand why you feel the way you do. The feelings you describe remind me a lot of where I am in my journey, actually. That said, the age-old advice still stands. Wait for 12 months, make a full assessment, plan accordingly. Getting a second surgery isn't the worst thing - it just means you'll end with a full result a little later than planned. Just be wary that if you do get a second HT, you'll be looking for a surgeon who specializes in a low transection rate, as they'll be working between hairs. Keep us posted!

Looks all normal to me. Like Melvin said it looks densely packed which I'm sure will give you an excellent result. Keep on the post op care and keep the recipient site moisturized with saline or whatever the surgeon specifies. Your scab removal day is going to be cathartic, I promise you. Happy growing!

Having gone exclusive (back when Dr Arika Bansal was part of the package) I would go exclusive again in a heartbeat, simply because having the accommodations and pick up/drop offs all sorted is not something I ever want to be thinking about when having surgery in a foreign country. That said if I was a local in the area I'd likely opt for the comprehensive package. As far as I've seen, the individual surgeons who mentored under Dr Bansal and Dr Sethi are all excellent at what they do. During my surgery there were others present in leading roles aside from Dr Bansal, and they all excelled at their jobs. I wouldn't be worried if they were working on me. As far as the top tier goes with Dr Sethi, obviously that would be the preferred choice. But in the case of that price per graft you should compare your surgery goals and outcomes with other clinics and look at the pricing accordingly. Instead of asking a question like "will I get botched?", make liberal use of the search bar in the top right and look at patient stories with similar hair characteristics to yours.

Appreciate the feedback everyone. The sides are definitely a concern for me because I like to wear my hair short occasionally, so that may no longer be an option. I'll touch base again at month 8 and hopefully some of these issues will have improved outcomes.

6 month update This update will be a bit longer. Please keep the feedback coming - it means a lot! Well HRN, it's been 6 months since my hair transplant at Eugenix Hair Sciences, and to be honest I've been going back and forth on deciding how happy I am. Sometimes I catch myself in favourable darker lighting and am blown away. Other times I can see straight through my hairline and feel a slump come over my shoulders, as the burden of something I thought I had overcome continues to weigh on me. Allow me to explain. When first I went to Eugenix I had already received a HT of 2200 grafts to the frontal third. My hair didn't look amazing but it worked. My mid-scalp was thin but you generally wouldn't notice unless you were looking down over top my head. When Dr. Bansal and I spoke during the consultation I told her my goals, in order of priority, were to reinforce the hairline, fill out the mid-scalp, and put whatever is left in the crown. It was expressed to me this was not just possible, but very achievable. I rested easy after the surgery because it was my understanding that, even with the knowledge of my crown still appearing thin, the frontal area would finally be resolved after this second pass. As I head towards 7 months and look at my progress as empirically as I can, here is what I see: 1. A hairline and mid scalp that, while improved, still have lots of visible scalp. 2. Noticeable shock loss on the sides of my head that persists more than half a year later. There is more than is visible - I have adjusted my hair to hide it. 3. A significantly improved crown. I have been happily surprised by this. With any hair transplant there are two important things to remember - it's an illusion of density, and full results are best observed at 12+ months. I haven't forgotten these things, nor have I forgotten that hair colour and texture play a part in the illusion. I am however having difficulty reconciling with the fact I will almost certainly require a third transplant down the road, to once again go over the hairline and mid scalp, in order to obtain a successful illusion. As I've given over 6600 grafts (and am now experiencing pockets of semi-permanent shock loss) I am not sure what my donor is capable of sustaining for a future transplant. Please let me know your thoughts. I'll update again at 8 months.

Apologies on the tardiness for 6 months - had some exciting life changes recently. I appreciate all the support and folks reaching out privately. I'm going to follow up very soon with some pictures outside in direct light (including one of the crown) because a lot has changed and I'd like to get the HRN community's thoughts. For consistency's sake, here are the usual bathroom angles until then.

Hi @AJGG13, we have very similar results (and hair characteristics, age etc) so it will be interesting watching us recover. I'll be posting my 6 month update near the end of July with more information but essentially my shock loss is almost the same as yours. Happy growing.

Incredible work on what looks to be a mature patient, shaving years off his age. As always, demonstration on point too 👏

That is an incredible amount of grafts. Happy healing - follow your post op instructions to the letter and keep us updated!

Missed this update but looks great! Our hair looks a little similar especially at this length.

Amazing work Melvin. Sometimes when I look at a journey like yours with so many ups and downs I'm just amazed at what we're capable of achieving with hair transplants.

Bump. Anybody from the community have advice?

You can check out my journey for more details but essentially I used Wise to pay 80% of it in advance and then paid the final bit with credit card in person. I'm a Canadian and had no issues at all with either payment, although for Wise I made sure to look up how the system works and actually sent the money a couple weeks in advance. It essentially 'arrived' to Eugenix's finance department a couple days before I arrived.

Hi HRN, I've never used concealers before and would like to give it a try. I watched Melvin's video and a few others on YouTube but feel slightly overwhelmed - from what I've seen dermmatch may be the best fit (although a little pricey). I want to get the colour right as my hair is not quite blonde and not quite brown. The last pic is dermmatch 'light brown'. Anyone have a recommendation for brand/colour? Thanks.

Very interesting thinning pattern, never seen anything like it! From just the hairline pics it doesn't look like you have any hair loss at all. The work looks great, have a happy recovery and keep us posted!

Appreciate all the kind words so far. Y'all are great. Some bonus pics for month 4 - got my first haircut since the transplant so I thought it was share-worthy. I asked for my usual which is a 1.5 on the sides with a basic fade. Unfortunately I don't think I'll be able to go this short anymore as the shock loss is pretty evident. But I don't mind that much and will let it grow from here on out. Stay tuned.

I got my first HT at 26, but I was on fin for about 4 years before that and my hair loss had plateaued pretty clearly. I guess what it comes down to is how honest your self assessment is while trying to remain as non biased as possible (i.e. not rushing to surgery in any way, and only after all other avenues have been thoroughly considered). If a reputable doctor is willing to take you that's also a good sign, I think. I'll be honest though, as a general rule I wouldn't recommend anybody under 25 get a hair transplant. But I'll admit that there is no one-size-fits-all approach and everyone's hair physiology is different. Like an above poster said, if you go through with it you should mentally prepare to require a second HT down the road, in case of further unforeseen loss.

Hey my dude, here's my quick thoughts. 1. I wouldn't go back to the clinic. I'd start researching on here to find another. 2. This part is a little confusing but aesthetically it doesn't look like 3000 grafts, it looks almost more like 2000-2500. This could be explained by poor yield but honestly I think you grew most of what was implanted - the sparseness on the sides is visible even before scab removal. You may have been oversold. The good news is that you're just looking for a density-improvement, which is totally feasible. I'd say the most important thing is good donor management and finding a Dr who is comfortable working between other transplanted hairs and achieving a low transection rate. Our situations are actually fairly similar in that I had a mediocre first HT, and am now filling it in with a second. I was super bummed out at first but honestly there are people with much worse situations.

Looks awesome. How far along are you now?

Man Dr. De Freitas does incredible work. Genuinely so clean.

Hi all, 4 months. I'd estimate about 90% of the hair you see is still native + first transplant so don't be mislead by the longer length. That said I'm starting to see more hairs sprouting so I'm hopeful for a strong density jump as we enter the growth phase. I promised myself I'd be extra patient with this HT though, so I'm going to continue holding my thoughts for now. Of note is some continued patchiness on both sides of my head just above my ears, although I was always a little thin in that spot, but it's something to watch going forward. The donor on the back of my head however feels good and dense. I bet I could do a third HT if I wanted to. I like doing these updates every two months as the results are more significant, so I may wait until month 6 for the next update.

so you left before the hair wash? which day after the HT is the hair wash exactly? - Hair wash is at 7 days I think? Yes I left before, I've already had a HT so I know how to do scab removal and wasn't afraid of it. Honestly staying any longer than 2 full days after surgery is overkill in my opinion. For each day you stay they'll clean your donor area for you, but even that is really just applying lotion and not something you couldn't do on your own. How much did Wise charge for the transfer, and can I do the transfer while in India? - I can't remember exactly but it was like 1/4 of what it would've cost if I went credit card full amount. You can download Wise and punch in your numbers and it will show you breakdown - it was really easy to use. The transfer takes time though (like 1-2 weeks or something) so you probably can't do it in India, unless you're there for a long time. Also can you do any exploring while you are there after the HT, or do you just rest/relax indoors until its time to go home - I relaxed in the hotel and had no desire to go outside. It's an incredibly busy city and the air quality is not the greatest, but you could if you wanted.